News
- Czech Airlines continues flights to Tel Aviv
- Prague and National Geographic reach settlement
- Český Aeroholding boss Miroslav Dvořák steps down
Marketplace
Czech EC candidate “has good chance” of landing preferred portfolio
The selection of a Czech candidate for the European Commission has been the
subject of a major contest on the Czech political scene this summer. But
the eventual nomination of Regional Development Minister Věra Jourová has
been described as a win-win situation for all parties involved, as well as
for the Czech Republic, whose candidate has a good chance of being put in
charge of one of her preferred portfolios.
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Current Affairs
Ministry presents strategy to improve Czech public health
The Czech Health Ministry on Wednesday presented a national strategy to
improve public health, which has in some respects deteriorated over the
past decades. The document entitled Health 2020 addresses 16 areas, from
lack of physical exercise to better institutional health care.
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Plan to make national parks more accessible to public unveiled
The environment minister has just unveiled what he describes as a
revolutionary amendment aimed at making the Czech Republic’s national
parks more accessible to the public. However, some critics say the planned
change could lead to damage to valuable wildlife, while others say the bill
contradicts existing legislation on the country’s biggest national park,
Šumava.
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Current Affairs
Prime minister reviews Foreign Ministry, outlines stance on Russia and tragedy in Ukraine
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka on Monday continued his tour of
government ministries, this time focusing on Černín Palace and results
over the last half year by the country’s foreign minister, Lubomír
Zaorálek. Mr Sobotka and the foreign minister...
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Government report on human rights says country needs children’s Ombudsman
The Czech Republic is one of the last remaining EU states which does not
have a children’s Ombudsman, according to a government report on the
state of human rights in the Czech Republic. The report says that while
cases relating to minors can be dealt...
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In Focus
Czech chimney climbers’ association thrives, but new challenges present problem
The Czech Republic boasts perhaps one of the strangest associations around,
a group dedicated to climbing industrial chimneys in their spare time. And
the more than 30 year old organisation, which started with a small group of
teenagers in the Communist...
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One on One
Alex Went cataloguing both popular sights and hidden gems with architecture blog Prague Vitruvius
The Prague Vitruvius is an extremely useful website for anybody interested
in perhaps the Czech capital’s greatest asset: its unparalleled wealth of
architecture. The blog is the work of Englishman Alex Went, who has created
close to 300 entries taking in both tourist sights and largely unknown gems
in the suburbs.
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Sports News
Sports News
In Sports News this Monday: Czech rider König wins admirers on climb to
eighth overall in Tour de France – former national champion Benčík tips
him to join top team; Špotáková makes it three out of three Diamond
League wins; Sparta send weakened squad to Tallinn for Champions League
qualifier; and Ostrava “ultras” to stay away from home games.
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Sunday Music Show
If a Thousand Clarinets: A charming ‘60s musical movie chock-full of singing stars
Kdyby tisíc klarinetů, or If a Thousand Clarinets, is a charming 1964
Czech musical film featuring a host of stars of the day, including singers
Waldemar Matuška, Karel Gott, Eva Pilarová and Hana Hegerová, the great
songwriters and musicians Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr, and actors such
as Jana Brejchová, Vlastimil Brodský and (not wearing his director’s
cap) Jiří Menzel.
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Czech History
UK-held Mitrokhin archives reveal details of KGB operation against Prague Spring
The freshly released files of the so-called Mitrokhin archive shed light on
Soviet intelligence activities during the Prague Spring of 1968. The files,
smuggled by senior KGB officer Vasiliy Mitrochin to the UK in the 1990s,
have been opened to the public by Cambridge University. They suggest that
the KGB aimed to undermine Czechoslovakia’s democratization process, with
Soviet illegal agents targeting dozens of Czech and Slovak public figures.
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Czech Books
Karel Jaromír Erben: a not quite so grim fairytale
If you are drawn to the rich Czech tradition of legend and fairytale,
Marcela Sulak’s new translation of one of the classics of 19th century
Czech poetry is a must. Karel Jaromír Erben’s collection of ballads,
“A Bouquet” was first published in 1853,...
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Letter from Prague
Why don’t Czechs honour their Armed Forces?
Although I enjoy living here in the Czech Republic with my wonderful Czech
wife, it is a very sad fact that I am often reminded of that I also live
amongst a nation that is not proud of their soldiers, a nation who would
rather typecast their Armed Forces...
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